PULLMAN, WA—The Whitman County Auditor has certified the results of the November 2, 2021 election. Results indicated Jeff Elbracht and Tricia Grantham will retain their seats on the Pullman Regional Hospital Board of Commissioners, and voters did not pass the hospital annexation resolution.
The “no” vote means no change for the hospital’s taxing district – it will continue to only include Pullman city limits.
“We were presented with feedback from our community during our last bond campaign to pursue expanding the hospital’s taxing district. The last step in pursing this option was to hear from the voters,” said Jeff Elbracht, Pullman Regional Hospital Board of Commissioners President.
The recommendation to consider expanding the hospital’s taxing district boundaries was made in January 2021 to the Board of Commissioners based on feedback, community surveys and public hearings during the 2019 attempts to pass a bond campaign.
In July, the Pullman Regional Hospital’s Board of Commissioners voted to move forward with adding the ballot measure to the 2021 general election to expand the hospital’s taxing district to coincide with Pullman School District boundaries.
The expansion would have included approximately 1,670 voters in the Pullman School District boundary who were not in the hospital’s current taxing district; only those 1,670 voters were eligible to vote on the ballot measure. 861 people voted; 53.7% voted no.
If the measure had passed, property owners would have assumed a tax obligation of 30 cents per $1,000 assessed value, for the hospital’s Maintenance and Operations levy which was approved by voters in 2013. This is $30 a year for every $100,000 in assessed value, and is the same rate as property owners in the current hospital district.
Contact: Alison Weigley, Director of External Relations
Pullman Regional Hospital & Foundation
Office: (509) 332-2041 / Cell: (509) 330-0242
alison.weigley@pullmanregional.org